NASP Publications

Relationships Among the Professional Practices and Demographic Characteristics of School Psychologists

Michael J. Curtis, Sawyer A. Hunley, J. Elizabeth Chesno Grier

pp. 30—42

Abstract. A national database resulting from a survey of school psychologists was used to examine relationships between the professional practices of school psychologists and the factors of practitioner training, experience, gender, school district setting, and students-to-school-psychologist ratio. School psychologists with more years of experience and those with higher levels of training were found to have served more students through consultation and to have conducted more in service programs than did those with less experience or training. Rural school psychologists were generally less experienced and were found to have conducted more special education reevaluations but fewer consultations than had their urban and suburban peers. Larger students-to-school-psychologist ratios were associate with special-education-related practices such as initial evaluations and reevaluations.Implications for future research are discussed.